IDF Kicks Off With 3d XPoint SSDs, Curie

The first public demonstration of solid-state drives based on the 3D XPoint memory Intel and Micron announced a few weeks ago, and a commitment to ship the Curie processor designed for the Internet of Things, were the highlights of CEO Brian Krzanich's (above) keynote at the Intel Developer Forum yesterday morning.

The first public demonstration of solid-state drives based on the 3D XPoint memory Intel and Micron announced a few weeks ago, and a commitment to ship the Curie processor designed for the Internet of Things, were the highlights of CEO Brian Krzanich's (above) keynote at the Intel Developer Forum yesterday morning.

Coming just weeks after the announcement of the memory and the shipment of the first systems based on the Skylake architecture, the keynote was short on major announcements, instead focusing mostly on Intel's push for developers to focus on new technologies for sensors, wearable computing, and the Internet of Things. The Skylake platform was mentioned only in passing – apparently we'll hear more details about the broader Skylake launch in a couple of weeks – and Xeon server processors weren't mentioned at all, though I expect they will be covered in more detail at other sessions at the event.

Rob Crooke, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group showed off the 3D Xpoint memory, which promises to be 1,000 times faster than NAND flash and 10 times the density of DRAM. He also announced that Intel plans to sell data center and notebook SSDs as well as DIMMs based on the new memory in 2016 under the Optane brand name.

In the demo, Crooke showed an Optane SSD providing five to seven times the performance of Intel's current fastest SSD running a variety of tasks. While it's not nearly as big an improvement as the underlying chips (after all, there are other components going into a full system), this would still be huge improvement. I hope to learn more details later in the conference.

In the keynote, Krzanich focused on a future "developed by you," and what he called three key assumptions for the future of computing: "sensification," smart and connected computing, and your PC as an "extension of you."

On the first topic, he talked about using sensors for providing sound and sight capabilities to computing. On sound, the demonstrations included showing a Skylake-based Windows 10 machine using "wake on voice" to wake up from a sleep state just by saying "Hey Cortana, wake up!" and a demo of improved audio latency on an Intel-based Android tablet.

For vision, Intel pushed its RealSense 3D camera by showing how a Google Project Tango phone equipped with the camera could quickly create a 3D map of the room around it. The commercial application of this included a Relay robot developed by Savioke that can bring items from the front desk to a hotel room, navigating the space in real time, avoiding people walking in front of it. This looked quite cool, though I'm not quite sure how necessary it is. Intel is supporting RealSense in the Open Source Robotics ROS robotic operating system, as well as in a variety of other software platforms, from Windows, Linux, and Mac to the Unity, Unreal, and Twitch gaming platforms.

The future of gaming involves connecting the virtual and physical worlds, Krzanich said, with the new sensors becoming important. An iRacing demo from VRX showed a driving simulation with three screens and a RealSense camera tracking head movement. Another demonstration showed a RealSense-based peripheral from Razer due out early next year that lets you show on Twitch a person playing a game in front of an image of the game without using a green screen.

The second trend, smart and connected everything, included demonstrations of connecting such sensors with the Internet of Things. The first demo here was of the Memomi memory mirror for retail stores, and how it can show you wearing a dress in different colors and capture images you can share on social media. This is now live in three Neiman Marcus stores, and will be in 16 this fall.

Another demo showed a smart baby seat clip from Nabi that uses a smart phone app to beep if you accidentally left your child behind locked in the car seat. A third showed a smart vending machine from N&W that includes a video screen and a RealSense camera that can determine your gender and age range and thus show you the best options. It also can work with gesture recognition, so you don't have to touch it, which is good for environments such as hospitals. He said N&W planned to have 5,000 such machines deployed by the end of next year.

Krzanich announced some developer tools for the Internet of Things, including EPIC (Enhanced Privacy Identification), a platform in partnership with Amtel and Microchip, and new tools as part of the company's IoT developer program.

The third assumption, he said, is that the computer becomes an extension of you. Wearables were the start of this trend and sales are up 170 percent so far this year. A Fossil executive showed a line of new wearables for the fall, including a connected bracelet, connected watch, and Android Wear watch.

Intel's real news in the space is that its Curie module announced at CES, which includes the Quark system-on-chip as well as sensors, will be available for select large computer design firms this fall. Krzanich said a broader announcement for makers will come at this fall's MakerFaire. For this, he announced several new software development kits, including Time IQ and Identity IQ, which join the previously announced Body IQ and Social IQ.

In one demo, a BMX bike rider did a number of tricks, including jumping over Krzanich on stage using a bike with sensors on the body and handlebar, while an application used pattern matching to determine which trick was done and how well it was executed. Such products, Krzanich said, "will revolutionize sports," changing how people view sports and how athletes train.

Another demo focused on enterprise wearables, with a prototype of a security bracelet, which can unlock computers using a Bluetooth Low Energy service called the user authentication standard.

Intel sponsored a contest for wearable makers last year, and this year will be partnering with Mark Burnett of United Artists Media (known for shows such as Survivor and The Voice) and Turner Networks to create a TV show and short-form video as part of a million-dollar contest knowns as America's Greatest Maker.

The keynote concluded with Krzanich doing a demo of dancing spider robots, which he controlled via a device on his wrist. "I don't think spiders will be responsible for the end of the world, but they could be responsible for a new dance craze," he joked.

Michael J. Miller's Forward Thinking Blog: forwardthinking.pcmag.com
Michael J. Miller is chief information officer at Ziff Brothers Investments, a private investment firm. From 1991 to 2005, Miller was editor-in-chief of PC Magazine, responsible for the editorial direction, quality and presentation of the world's largest computer publication.
Until late 2006, Miller was the Chief Content Officer for Ziff Davis Media, responsible for overseeing the editorial positions of Ziff Davis's magazines, websites, and events. As Editorial Director for Ziff Davis Publishing since 1997, Miller took an active role in...
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